Tips for Planning Safety Meetings for Your Construction Crew

When you work on a job site that has the potential to be dangerous for your employees, such as a construction project, safety has to be your top priority. The best way to keep your crew safe out in the field is to educate them on the hazards they’ll face, how to prevent accidents from happening, and what to do if something happens on the job.

Holding regular safety meetings will not only provide workers with the information they need, but also show that you are committed to their safety, first and foremost.

Here are a few helpful tips for planning informative and effective safety meetings for your construction crew:

Focus on one safety topic at a time.

If you throw too much information at your employees at once, only a limited amount is going to stick. It’s better to cover safety topics one at a time, preferably planning a separate meeting for every new topic. You may want to discuss something relevant to an upcoming project, or just cycle through some common safety issues. Either way, your objective should be clear, so that safety standards and expectations are clear as well. A few potential safety topics to discuss might be:

Common worksite hazards (and how to recognize and handle them)
Equipment safety
Personal fall/injury prevention
Who is responsible for ensuring safety on the job
Emergency response planning

Schedule safety meetings in advance.

There’s no set standard for how frequently construction safety meetings should be held. Depending on your workload, you may choose to do them weekly, before a new project, or quick “toolbox talks” for 5-10 minutes before each shift. Whatever schedule you choose, safety meetings should always be planned for in advanced. This will allow you time to prepare a focused presentation and give workers notice to ensure they attend.

Make your safety training continuous.

Safety training should never stop. Safety meetings should not just be for new team members or serve as annual reminders. New construction safety rules are being implemented all the time. If you want to keep your company running and your workers safe, then you and your entire team must be on top of the most current standards. You should follow up on safety meetings with regular worksite inspections and by offering availability to address individual employee questions and concerns.

In addition to holding regular safety meetings, you should also invest in the proper equipment to keep everyone safe on the worksite. For projects that rely on heavy machinery, the high-quality hardwood mats from Ritter Forest Products can help by providing ground stability and protection underneath your equipment.